Prof Haikai Tane: China's Ancient Dao Farming System [Water Farming]

Lessons to be learnt from ancient chinese farming

Prof Haikai Tane on Dao [Water Farming]: '...our [Western & 'westernised'] farming system is very poorly performing...'

By Richard Hudson

Wednesday, 16/09/2009

A professor of sustainability believes Australian farmers can learn so much from China, especially when it comes to growing soils and farming water.

Some farmers in China might laugh when they hear people talking about sustainable food production systems in Australia.

Since colonisation, we've only been farming here for a few hundred years.

But on some blocks of land in China, they've been producing massive quantities of things like rice, fruit , vegetables, fish and pigs for thousands of years.

Often without chemicals, fertilisers and modern equipment.

Haikai Tane was brought up in Australia, currently lives in New Zealand but for the last decade has been working in China for three months a year, carefully studying the Dao natural farming system.

He says that in those regions of China that still use the Dao natural farming system, they can produce 30 to 50 tonnes of food per hectare.

He says farmers in New Zealand think they are doing well if they can produce seven tonnes per hectare.

Mr Tane is a professor of sustainable development and he is also director of the Watershed Research Station in the high country of New Zealand.

If you want to hear more about the Dao farming system or Mr Tane's thoughts on the way we are currently farming in Australia click on the link below.

In this report: Haikai Tane, professor of sustainable development and director, Watershed Research Station in the high country of New Zealand.

Listen: Click here to listen to an extended interview (RealAudio).

More resources click here: http://terraquaculture.net/resources.html